St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-04
YESTERDAY AT THE TRIAL.
Testimony Given While the Lave
yers Spared Constantly.


Testimony Given While the Lave
yers Spared Constantly.
Nearly all yesterday forenoon was
consumed by argument between cOun.
sci over the prOpriety of the question,
''Did you not try to secure writ Of
habeas corpus at Alliance?" being put
to Reid in crOss-eXaminatiOn to CONTRA
dict his statement that he had come
back voluntarily. The court permitted
him to go upon the stand, however, in
answer to the question. Both
lawyers had exhausted theif
law libraries for authorities and
were made to Mr.. Munn's questions.
Reid admitted that he had talked to-
Chief Stacey about getting lawyer. but
denied having made any attempt to get
his liberty. Mr.. Mum tried to work in
the letter Reid sent from Alliance, but
the court sustained the objection against
it. Reid was then subjected to much
inquisitiOn about his object in taking
the train at Newport for Chicago and
as to whether he had stated to Chief
Stacey that his only hope of escaping
the penitentiary was to marry the girl,
but these questions, as well as that as
father for money, were ruled out.
Mr.. Mum endeavOred to get several
witnesses, principally Miss COmpston'S
mother, to rebut the testimony of the
defense, but failed, as Miss COmpstOn'S
mother has been in attendance all the
time during the taking of testimony.
Proprietor j. T. Winslow gave no very
satisfactory evidence as to Reid's Stop
ping at the Winslow house, and pretty
Miss Lowering, an actress, too, was per"
mitted to say only that Miss CompStOil
looked pale when She saw her on hey
way to take the train for MinneapoliS
the Sunday after the act. The c0urb
took recess at 1920 p. IN.
A REPORTERS EVIDENCE.
When court recOnvened, W. s. Haf-
wood, reporter, testified to an inter-
view in which Manager Scott Gunn
stated that Reid had admitted his guilt
to him. Miss COmpSton was called in
rebuttaktO deny Scott Gums statement
that he once saw Reid'S arm around her
waist at the West Side theater. There
was a good deal of fighting over her tes-
timOny, and Mr.. Mum failed very Sig-
nally, as in the cases of j. K. Hewitt
and Dr.. Sharp, in getting in much re-
buttal testimony.
The summing up commenced about
3:20 o'clock, and Mr.. Munn'S argument
was prolonged until after o'clock. He
regarded the prosecution as his unpleaSe
ant duty, and made some very pretty
talk about the law of virtue and honor
having its origin in the birth of virtue
and honor. 1t was not the duty of the
state, he thought, to act as a prosecutor,
though it was the duty of the defense to
prevent. as far as possible, the bringing
out of the true facts of the case (tO
which assertion Mr.. O'Brien promptly
objected.) He detailed the facts anti
circumstances of the case, referred to
Miss CompStOn as a modest and virtuouS
young woman, who will ever have to
bear the burden of the public reproach
of an outraged woman, and he regarded
the act of Reid i'll procuring Mrs. Will4
iamS' absence as tiendish plot In
course of his summing Mr.O'Brien said:
II am one OF those men whe believe in
the equality of the personal Impurlty OF
the sexes and its results. do not be-
lieve there is any forgiveness for an
act of personal impurity. Now here is
man charged with a crime that is punk
ishable by almost death. Now let us
understand the thing-IS it fOrnicatiOn,
and punishable by fine of only $50? OF
is it a case of rape, which is punishable
by penalty of thirty years impriSon-
ment? My learned friend has put this
case upon false basis. He doesn't he.
lieve that woman is guilty of any Grim.
inal consent. Might this not be simply
an act of obtaining commerce by con-
sent? Why within the sound of my voice
there are fifteen temples devoted to the
basest worship of the goddess Venus.
am living example of man whose
every political prospect has been almost
blighted. whose ambition almost cruSh~
ed, who has been called
CHRIS O'BRIEN, THE CRANK,
because | tried to sweep out these
places of vice and crime. In the course
of his argument, Mr.. O'Brlen made q
remark to the effect that County AttOr-
ney Egan had never been accused by
his worst enemy of ever looking up the
law in a case he was prosecuting.
Everybody listened spell-bOund by
the advocates elOquence. Judge Egan
had come in with rather serious look
upon his face while Mr.. O'Brien was
talking. When the latter finished his
argument MIR. Egan arose, saying In his
peculiar way: "Your honor, | UNDER
Stand that l have been charged with
neglecting my duty as county attorney
of this county,"
''Mr. Egan. sit down." yentured the
court in soft reproof.
But he didn't sit down. He cOntinue1
to talk, looking right straight ahead I'd
where MIR. O'Brien was standing, near
Stenographer Hillman's table. He said:
1--WE been prosecuting as county attOr1
ney for eight years. Last winter the
legislature passed an act allowing me
to have an assistant"
"Silence, gentlemen" demonstrated
Judge Kelly.
.'I'm not saying a word" explained
Mr.. O'Brien, with schoolboy look.
''And I'd advise you TO keep your
mouth shut" thundered Mr.. Egan.
''You know where | live, don't yOu?''
asked Mr.. O'Brien.
The court succeeded in getting silence,
and Judge Kelly then charged the jury.
He was very fair and explicit, and
pointed out what constituted the crimes
of rape and fOrnicatiOn. what c0nsti-
tuted resistance and consent and what
was violence, force by superior brute
power or superior will power. 1T need
not be by a known brute force" he said,
''or muscular strength; it may be the
force of superior will power causing
fright or fear. A person unconscious is
incapable of giving consent. According
to the old rules, a woman assaulted is
bound to resist
TO THE UTMOST
of her power. to cry out, unless she be
prevented. She must use all the force
that God and nature had given her to
protect her virtue and honor. She must
also make proper complaint as soon as
possible,as soon as she can to the proper
persons, but no woman is compelled to
advertise to the whole world the story
of her outrage and ruin"
When the jury retired Judge Egan
and ex-MayOr O'Brien squared their lit
tie difficulty. Then Messrs. O'Brien
and Mum had a few interesting
words. Mr.. Mum thought Mr.. O'Brien
told an untruth, because the former un-
derstoOd that he was to try the case with
the consent of the latter, and that Mr..